THEATRE REVIEW: The Dreamer Examines His Pillow at Shakespeare & Company

By John Patrick Shanley

Directed by Tod Randolph

(Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, Mass., 186 seats, $16-$48)

 

A Shakespeare & Company production of a play in one act

Miriam Hyman                     Donna

John Douglas Thompson      Dad

Bowman Wright                   Tommy

 

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

 

 

The play opens with Tommy in his apartment, a disgusting dump, dominated by a crude self-portrait on one wall. Tommy, given a riveting portrayal by Bowman Wright, has clearly lost his way in life; he has been reduced to addressing his refrigerator. His ex-girlfriend, Donna, played brilliantly by Miriam Hyman, bursts in, all anger and aggression and regret. She is furious that he has been seeing her much younger sister.

 

Wright shows us just how screwed up Tommy is, yet is miraculously able to convey something of what Donna sees in him, so we begin to understand why she loves him. And the passages where he describes his dreams are just lyrical.

 

They argue, they embrace, and they argue some more. It’s an agonizing conversation, the pain and passion fly back and forth, and it feels real and true. There is more than chemistry between these two characters, it's more like electricity. Finally Donna breaks away to seek advice.

 

In the second scene, Donna arrives at her father’s apartment; they have been estranged for some time. Thompson portrays the father with power and humor; he is, or was, a painter, but has been unable to work since his wife’s death. Donna is still angry at him, but needs his advice. She is worried that she is in love with a man just like her father, and Tommy’s attempt at a self-portrait has underlined that concern. The interaction between Thompson and Hyman is a continuation of the heightened energy.

 

The third scene brings the three together, but their fates remain unclear, as in life. Under Randolph's direction, these three actors have created an exceptionally strong ensemble, and the other components of the production, the lighting and sound especially, work well in the black box-style Bernstein Theatre.

The play is an example of Shanley’s earlier work, with passages of really good writing—the second scene between father and daughter is wonderful. Shanley, who is known for, among other pieces, his Oscar-winning Moonstruck screenplay and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt, offers us some astonishing dialogue about sexuality, family, art-making, reconciliation, and dreams.

In the more-than-capable hands of director Tod Randolph, and with a cast of this stellar quality, this production is memorable and moving. It’s tempting to compile a list of the summer’s outstanding productions just for the pleasure of including Dreamer. [AUGUST 2009]

 

Set design, Christian Schmitt; Costume design, Lena Sands; Lighting design, Greg Solomon; Sound design, Michael Pfeiffer; Stage manager, Bryanna Meloni